


An Act

by littlewerewolftori13



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Break up Scare, Hurt/Comfort, Little bit of acting little bit of overreacting, M/M, going comando because James is an idiot, good clean fun with no pants on, wet panties but not in the way it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 20:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8259101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlewerewolftori13/pseuds/littlewerewolftori13
Summary: When Q overhears something he can't deal with, the only thing he can do is escape the situation before it gets worse.





	

“I don’t love you anymore. I don’t love you anymore.” There was a sound like a glass being set down, then James’ voice echoed in the small room again, smoother, like he was perfecting a role. “I don’t love you anymore.” 

Q moved closer to the bathroom door, cold anxiety running up and down his spine, traveling down his arms and into his chest. He had arrived home early and had quietly snuck in, hoping to surprise James with an early dinner, but this was… James’ voice interrupted his thoughts again, making him take a small step back as fear lanced through him. 

“I can’t do this anymore, I don’t feel the same way about you… About us anymore. I’m leaving you.” Q had only ever heard James’ voice like this on the comms, slightly tinny because at that point in the mission he had probably somehow dropped the earpiece a few times or gotten it wet and it was on the verge of becoming inoperable, but cold, a void of emotion where it had once been plentiful.

Q took another step backwards, mentally cursing as his shoulder hit the frame of the hall door with a muted thump. He froze, his heart pounding loudly in the dark of the flat, but only listened to the sudden alert silence from the bathroom for a second before he turned, grabbing his bag and keys and running out of the flat. He heard a shout from behind him as he let the door to the flat slam behind him, but didn’t stop.

He took the stairs at a run, pulling his phone out (thank god it was in his bag still) and ordering a cab to come pick him up at the next corner. He got the positive alert as he hit the street, apologizing to the building’s doorman as he burst past him and slowing to weave through the crowd, pulling the knit hat he kept in his bag over his distinctive inky black curls. Only once he was sitting in the back of the cab, watching his building disappear as the cab turned a corner did he allow himself to think about what he was doing, what was happening. James was breaking up with him. James had been planning to, maybe for days now. Was he seeing someone else? Had he just gotten tired of Q, of his gangly limbs and pale skin from never leaving his office during the day? 

Q bit at his nails nervously, trying to figure out what to do. He needed to hide from James for a while, that was for certain. He’d be a mess if he were to see James now and if he was getting dumped, he was going to be strong about it, not the pathetic crying mess he was going to be once the shock wore off. If James found him now, Q would never be able to look him in the eyes again, and how could he lead him on missions? James would have no respect for him if Q couldn’t handle this. 

A shiver of pain began just behind his sternum, a sharp sensation that he was sure would turn into an ache if he allowed himself even a second to think about it. With a tap on the dividing glass, he was dropped off on the side of the road. He began walking, taking his time in the crowded area and keeping his head down. When he was shaking almost violently from the cold, he finally broke away from the crowd, heading to a small nearby inn. He let the hostess show him the room, but refused the offer of food, instead thanking her and shutting the door politely but firmly. 

He took a step back, and then another, shrugging out of his coat and outerwear, letting his shoes lay where he toed them off as he headed shakily towards the bathroom. He turned the water on to warm it and shucked his clothes off quickly, stepping under the spray. Once he was safely under the spray and not about to get frostbite or hypothermia, he stopped trying to hold back his reaction. It started with one almost full body convulsion, the last of the cold leaving him as the room began to fill with steam, that turned into an almost questioning noise at the end. His next breath caught on a sob and then he couldn’t stop. 

Leaning forward, he wrapped his arms across his chest and stomach, using the wall to slide down till he was sitting. Sobs shook his thin frame, the water pounding his side not distracting from the immense pain in his chest. It radiated from just behind his sternum but had traveled up his throat and across his shoulders, leaking every so often down into his guts and twisting them until he thought he might be sick. He thought he heard something and tried to listen, but between the spray of water over his ears and his shuddering breaths, he couldn't hear much of anything. He sank further into his position, letting his head fall to his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs as best he could. With his hair covering his ears and the spray of water coming down directly on his head, it made sense why he didn’t hear anything else until he realized that he was feeling cooler air. He jerked his head up in time to see James pulling his shirt over his head.

“Wha- what are you doing here?” Q panicked, turning away from James as much as he could. What was this, some kind of loss induced hallucination? How could James even be here? Why was he even here?

“I came to find you, you ran out of the house before I even knew you were there. I should probably be the one asking you why you’re holed up here.” James slid out of his pants, stepping into the shower still wearing his underwear. Q kept his face turned away, hoping to hide his probably red and puffy eyes from James.

“How did… “ Q sniffed a bit, still trying to cover up the fact that he was crying, though it was probably useless. “How did you find me?” 

“Q, I track people for a living.” The words sounded like he was trying to make a joke, but James’ voice still sounded all wrong.

Q stayed quiet, wondering if this was it, if James had /really/ come this far just to break his heart and leave him. They really hadn’t been together for so long, but Q didn’t know how he was going to take being apart again. He didn’t want to be alone again…

“Q… Do you want to tell me what’s going on? Did you just want to avoid a huge water bill? Because I don’t think it’d be that big of a deal.” Again, James’ voice didn’t sound quite right, like he was trying to lighten the conversation but couldn’t manage it. Finally Q turned to see his expression. He didn’t know what he expected; but worry, confusion, and even a slight amount of fear wasn’t it. Q didn’t know how to respond, but finally decided to just go on avoiding it.

“Oh, it’s nothing really, just wanted a change of scene.” He said miserably. “Was feeling a bit stuffy after being at work all day.”

“You love being shut up at work all day.” James responded dubiously.

“Well, we all have bad days,” Q replied stubbornly. 

James was silent for a little while, then spoke quietly. “I know you heard me. At home. And I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I promise, it’s not-” Q cut him off almost angrily. 

“What, it’s ‘not what it looks like’? Are you really going to say that? Are you going to try ‘it’s not you, it’s me” next? What do you want from me James, If you’re going to-” His breath caught as tears began to leak from his eyes again. “To break up with me just d-do it!” 

He stood swiftly, almost stumbling right out of the shower, his legs feeling like a newborn deer with a combination of the hot water and sitting for so long. He shut the water off and grabbed a towel, rubbing it vigorously over his limbs, drying as much as he could. Finally, he sat on the edge of the bed and dropped his head into his hands. He was fucking this all up, wasn’t he. He shouldn’t be encouraging James to break up with him, he should be fighting for him to stay. He looked up as James walked out of the bathroom. He looked slightly damp still, but he was dressed again and Q got a clearer look at what he was wearing. It looked like he had come straight from the flat without changing; he was still wearing comfy house clothes. They stared at each other for a long while before Q shifted.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.” He tried to stop the renewed urge to cry, unable to help the tears building in the corners of his eyes. James sighed and walked over to the bed, this time sitting right next to Q and putting his arm around him. He shivered as the heavy warmth of James’ arm settled over him, not realizing that he was getting so cold. He haphazardly used his feet to drag clothes towards him, pulling his pants back on awkwardly and sliding his arms back into the sleeves of his shirt but not bothering with the buttons. When he was done with all he could be bothered to do, he huffed lightly. “I don’t want you to break up with me.”

James hummed. “Well that’s good, I don’t want to break up with you.”

“What?” Q demanded, finally looking up again.

“I don’t want to-”James exhaled harshly through his nose. “I never wanted to break up with you. What you heard its. It has nothing to do with us, I was just… I was practicing.”

Q blinked up at James, uncomprehending. “You… What?” 

With a sigh, James gestured to the bathroom. “If I have nothing else to do, I go practice different expressions in the mirror, figure out how they look with different phrases, or how they affect the tone of what I’m saying. I watch my body posture and try changing things up, it’s just something I do if I have free time. It makes it easier for me to slip into different personas when I’m in the field. Its an acting technique, really. I usually avoid doing it when other people are around.” James fell silent, warily watching Q watch him. 

“So you’re not going to break up with me then? This was all… Just a misunderstanding?”

James nodded, tucking Q farther into his side. “I probably should’ve told you, but I never thought it’d come up. I’m normally not one for sharing space over long periods of time. It’s something I’ve been getting used to, but… I don’t want to end it.” Q nodded with a sigh, turning his head and nuzzling his face into James’ shoulder with a weak chuckle. 

“I’m glad. God, I’m exhausted. Let’s go back home?” Q asked, moving to stand in front of James and pulling him up. 

“Please, lets. We’ll grab some takeout on the way home, hmm?” James said as he helped Q into the rest of his clothes, leading him out of the room and downstairs to check out. 

As they left the inn, calling a cab to take them home, Q looked at James consideringly. 

“Are you still wearing those wet pants?” 

James smirked slightly, trying to keep a blank face. “Nope.”

“Huh.”

**Author's Note:**

> This came out of /no where/, I have no excuses for why I'm not working on Pulse or Writings but I'm not sorry.


End file.
